Examining oral intake temperature in cardiac surgery patients.
The effect of restricting the temperature of cardiac surgery patients' oral intake to room temperature or warmer, over the first 3 postoperative days, on gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms was examined. In all, 57 patients were randomly assigned to receive the intervention or usual care. GI symptoms were measured daily over the first 5 postoperative days. Following hospital discharge, GI symptoms and return to function data were collected over 4 postoperative weeks. On Postoperative Day 1, 41% of patients reported having GI symptoms, and they were significantly associated with higher cross-clamp time. Symptoms dissipated over time. There were no differences between the study groups in GI symptoms or return to function. Nearly 70% of patients who withdrew from the study were randomized to the intervention group. Difficulty associated with adhering to the study protocol was their primary reason for withdrawing. Given these findings, a large-scale clinical trial may not be warranted.
King
Kathryn M
KM
University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Donahue
Marlene
M
Dowey
Helen
H
Bayes
Alec
A
Cuff
Laura
L
Korol
Nichole
N
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus; D005260:Female; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011897:Random Allocation; D012907:Smoking; D055815:Young Adult